MDDEFP to remove PCBs within 10 days - Pointe-Claire's City officials satisfied with results

POINTE-CLAIRE, QC, Sept. 26, 2013 /CNW Telbec/ - Pointe-Claire Mayor Bill McMurchie is particularly satisfied for the City's residents about the announcement by MDDEPF Minister Yves-François Blanchet confirming that the PCBs illegally stored on the Reliance site would be safely and completely removed within the next 10 days.

"We have cooperated with the Ministry to make sure that the site is made safe as quickly as possible. The Municipal Council's elected officials and I are all the more satisfied with this announcement because our priority has been from the outset to ensure the health and safety of our residents," stated Mayor McMurchie.

Operations to transfer and dispose of the most contaminated PCB-laden hazardous materials were quickly begun by Sanexen, the firm specializing in contaminated site remediation hired by the Ministry. All of the PCB-contaminated hazardous materials will be removed to the only site in Canada accredited to deal with the materials, the Alberta Special Waste Treatment Facility, a provincial hazardous waste disposal plant located in Swan Hills, Alberta.

Minister Blanchet and Mayor McMurchie held a press conference on September 17, the same day as the government was slated to step in to take control of the site to make it safe, under the terms of Ministerial Order 630.

An intrusion detection system was immediately installed on the site, and work was done to repair the fence, including fixing holes and installing barbed wire. Once the PCBs are removed from the site, the Ministry will make a public call for tenders for the soil characterization and the required decontamination.

"As we jointly announced earlier, the PCBs will be removed from the Reliance site, and this will reduce the potential hazards on this illegal storage site. As the Minister promised, soil decontamination will be completed in the next few months, to our great satisfaction," stated Mayor McMurchie.

The City of Pointe-Claire's Municipal Council invites citizens to consult the City's website for all the latest developments at www.ville.point-claire.qc.ca.

SOURCE: Ville de Pointe-Claire

Jean Maurice Duddin, Astérisme relations publiques et communication, 514 771-5777 [email protected]